


My Body is a Cage

by x_carnivale_x (commodorecliche)



Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Blow Jobs, Dancing, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Learning to Dance, M/M, Romance, Sex, Slow Dancing, Smut, Sweetness, Swing Dancing, West Coast Swing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 19:53:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2519795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commodorecliche/pseuds/x_carnivale_x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a short trip to Pittsburgh, Zach returns to Los Angeles to prep for filming the newest Star Trek sequel. After accidentally walking in on him, Zach learns that Chris has been trying to teach himself to dance West Coast Swing. Zach is determined to teach Chris, and Chris is determined. Never you mind the fact that Chris was already trying to learn the girl's part of the steps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Body is a Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Song list:  
> [1]Moby - Flower.  
> [2]Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha.  
> [3]Josh Rouse - Come Back.  
> [4]Ying Yang Twins & Pitbull - Shake.  
> [5]Sara Lov - My Body is a Cage [Arcade Fire Cover].  
> [6]The Commitments - Mustang Sally.  
> [7]Seal - Waiting for You.  
> [8]The Cranberries - Pretty.  
> [9]Lady Gaga - Just Dance.
> 
> To visualize the style of dance Chris is learning, I recommend this video: [Meg, Jeff, & Moby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prZycLRj3Ws)

Chris keeps a little mini-gym in his house, in case he doesn't feel like going out to the full gym down the road. Zach thinks that's ironically lazy, but laughs about it. Zach finds Chris down in said home-gym on a Wednesday afternoon. They've got a couple of weeks off before filming for the Trek sequel is scheduled to start, and it had only been reasonable that Zach would be relaxing, flying out to Pittsburgh for a while to see his family. He'd offered a spot for Chris on the trip, saying he was always welcome in the Quinto Household, but Chris had buggered off, saying he should probably see his own family too, and didn't want to risk gaining any unnecessary weight from all of Mama Quinto's food. And well, Zach had expected a number of things to come home to after leaving Chris on his own for a week - upon invading Chris's house that Wednesday afternoon, he expected to find Chris reading, Chris playing video games, Chris jacking off, or something equally awkward - but what Zach hadn't expected was to come home and to have to follow the steadily thumping beat of Moby[1] down into Chris's home gym. Down the stairs into the basement-gym, following the trail of Moby, down where Zach finds Chris attempting to practice a West Coast Swing side-step, triple step combination in front of the mirror between the leg-press and the free weights. 

Zach just pauses and stands in the door, Noah's leash still in hand and hot on his heels, but he motions quickly for the dog to wait behind him and not to interrupt his friend. Noah begrudgingly obeys, sitting down next to Zach in the doorway silently while Zach pats his head and lets himself watch Chris for a few moments longer. The younger man _almost_ has the step in time, and Zach likes to say that he's actually doing a pretty decent job considering the fact that he's dancing without a partner to help. But Chris still keeps over-stepping it and Zach feels the need to tell him so. The song lulls softly, fading out as it finishes, and part of Zach expects that it'll repeat itself, but he uses the moment of temporary silence to announce his presence, stepping fully into the gym and commanding Chris's attention. 

"Christy, dear, you're over-stepping your right foot."

Chris's eyes glance up into the mirror, catching Zach's reflection, and he startles quickly and turns around. 

"Jesus Christ, Zach, warn a guy. Also, what the hell are you doing here? And fuck, don't call me Christy." 

The song starts up again and Zach just laughs, letting his hair flop into his face and he shrugs. 

"Why not? You're practicing the girl's part anyway, _Christy_." 

"Oh, right, and you would know that because....?" 

Zach laughs again and strides fully into the room towards Chris, Noah in his wake and settling off to the side to observe. He stands beside Chris and his feet quickly catch the beat and he falls into a light-weighted double, triple step. Chris notes immediately that the steps are the leading steps, the guy's part of the dance. He sighs and rubs his eyes. 

"Of all things, dude, why do you know this?"

"Of all things, Chris, why are you practicing this?" Zach counters with a taunting tone, poking lightly at his friend's obvious frustration. He rolls his eyes. "Oh, don't be so uptight, Chris. There are worse things I could've walked in on." Zach flicks at Chris's nose with a smile and promptly receives a smack against his arm to knock him away, accompanied by a glare from Chris. Zach just keeps smiling. "Come on, I'll help you. It's easier to learn with a partner anyway." 

Chris just glares at him some more, but Zach turns to face him and holds out his hand.

"Well?" 

And with a gruff sigh, Chris rolls his eyes and grabs Zach's hand and allows himself to stare at Zach's feet as he leads into a quick back-and-forth two step. They leave their other hands unoccupied as the step continues, and Zach is almost amused by the way Chris is intently watching their feet. He wants to tell him not to, but he doesn't feel like it would do any good at this point. He'll just have to try later. Zach smiles instead and leads Chris further - forward, back, slight sway right, slight sway left, but it's when they come to the full side step that Chris over-steps it. He huffs in frustration and Zach just keeps the grin planted on his face as his friend drops his hand and strides over to the CD player to stop the track. Zach shrugs.

"It's just the side step that you're fuckin' up, man." 

"I'm aware of that, First Commander."

Chris steps back to stand side by side with Zach again in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection intently as he counts the beat off to himself, feet starting up slowly with his voiced beat. He nails it perfectly and Zach watches as he does it again. He counts it off and nails the step without missing a beat. 

"See... You know the count of it." 

"Yeah, now if I could get it to the music, we'd be golden." Chris sighs. 

"Well, you're only getting it when it's the only step you're counting. You get so caught up with the music cause you're trying to count everything else and so you're missing that one, losing track of it, ergo, you overstep it. Just go with it man, don't think about counting it. It's just a beat. You know the step, it would appear." 

Chris laughs with frustration and tries to refocus, doing a quick practice step in the mirror before stepping towards the player again. Zach is almost excited to have the music back, ready to fall back into step, but he sees Chris pause and turn back to look at him with a look of confusion and amusement etched onto his features. He forces out a chuckle towards Zach, and the older man receives it skeptically, but Chris speaks quickly, his hand motioning between the two of them.

"You know, _normal_ friends, guy friends, don't do this."

"Oh please, come on. We play one of the most epically bromantic duos in television and film, we get harassed by fangirls and paparazzi, we live a block away from each other, you walk my dog when you feel like it, and try to borrow my clothes. If there's anything we need to worry about, practicing West Coast Swing for a night is _not_ very high on the list." 

Chris pauses and nods with a quick shrug. 

"You have a point." He turns back and restarts the track from the beginning and turns back to Zach. "Alright, Quinto, show me how to fix this damn side step I'm apparently fucking up."

For what feels like the hundredth time that night, Zach just lowers his eyes with a laugh and glances back at Chris with his hand extended, faintly enjoying the way that Chris's fingers clasp onto his as they start the dance up again.

::

"You know, Chris..." Zach starts as he slides down into the patio chair in Chris's backyard, holding a beer in either hand, caps already off. He passes one off to Chris and sits fully with a satisfied huff. "There were a lot of things I expected to come back to," he brushes a chuckle past his lips as he hears Chris sigh and begin to drink his beer.

"Don't start with me, Zach." 

Zach ignores him.

"But honestly, you practicing a six-count in the mirror wasn't one of them." 

"I swear to god, Zachary, I'm going to kill you over and over again." 

"I'm just sayin', man." 

Chris just grumbles some unintelligible response into the rim of his beer bottle and Zach is actually starting to feel kind of bad about how much he's been laughing at the boy this evening. Ahah, just kidding. Honestly, he can't really help it. Riling Chris up is one of his favorite past-times, and the fact that Chris's face flushes up any time his attempts at dancing have been mentioned sets an honest smile on Zach's lips. Chris is probably one of the... oh, how should he phrase it... _prettier_ guys Zach has met, but by god, the boy does his best to keep the manly-man image he so accidentally gained from playing Captain Kirk. He's a Los Angeles boy, born and bred, but he's got a nice deep voice, he keeps a light dusting of stubble on his jaw line. He drinks beer or takes shots and knows how to ride a horse, apparently. And his hands are honest-to-god calloused. But West Coast Swing Dance was never at the top of the "GRUNT GRUFF, MANLY, TOOLS" list.

Zach fully admits that his own personality stereotypically does fit in with the dancing-vibe, as embarrassing as that is, but Chris hasn't mentioned that little fact yet, and damned if Zach is going to be the one to remind him. Plus, if Chris is oblivious, Zach is going to keep this fun going for as long as he can. He smiles in Chris's direction and speaks.

"You're actually a pretty good dancer, man." 

And that does it. Chris flushes fully, cheeks turning beat-red as he finishes off his beer in two large gulps. He pops his lips off it once it's empty and glances away from Zach with a nervous breath.

"Shut up." He half-heartedly mumbles. Zach is quick to the defense, leaning forward in his chair towards Chris.

"I'm serious. You're pretty good, especially if you taught yourself that shit, sans-partner." 

Chris doesn't respond so Zach continues, flopping back fully into his seat.

"Well, _I_ had to learn with a partner. It'd be a lot harder to learn it without one." 

Once again, Chris stays silent, now fiddling with the peeling label on his beer bottle, the condensation making it moist and pliant and easily peeled. He toys with it as best he can to try and keep himself occupied. He can hear Zach huff and he dares to glance over at his friend. Chris isn't quite sure what he's so embarrassed about - Zach fucking knows the dance, he knows more than Chris does. That should, in and of itself, warrant more embarrassment, and yet Chris can't help the blush in his cheeks. For a moment, he starts to feel self conscious, wondering if maybe his nervousness has been brought on by the fact that Zach knows more and that maybe he isn't good enough. But he tosses the thought aside, because no matter how "pretty" he is (so say his fans), or the fact that he prefers to dance the lady's part in swing, he is _not_ a girl, and those little self conscious moments really don't suit him. But when he glances over, Zach's looking at him with a determined, yet bemused stare. 

"I think we should keep working on it." He says. 

Chris's head snaps up. 

"Huh?" He forces out - always the eloquent one, aren't you Chris? Zach laughs at him. 

"I'm serious, let's keep practicing. I know it well enough and you want to learn more. You've already got the six count down, and the side step is almost there, we toss in some turns, maybe a dip, maybe teach you how to follow better," Zach emphasizes the last bit with a playful wink, "We could make a pretty dynamic duo." 

Chris has never heard Zach sound gayer - which is saying a lot, the boy doesn't exactly exude masculinity, but hey. But Chris surprises himself with how quickly he agrees, nodding at Zach silently. Zach stands and motions for him to follow back into the house. Chris pauses for a moment before standing slowly and striding after Zach back towards the downstairs gym.

::

They practice in their free time, and Zach makes sure to never let Chris practice to the same song more than a few times, forcing Chris to actually find and work with new beats. The songs vary, honestly, in both style, tempo, and genre, and it takes Chris a little while to adjust. Zach throws in Moby[1], Seal[7], Josh Rouse[3], and a bunch of other shit that Chris _never_ would have associated with West Coast Swing - the best example he has being the Pussycat Dolls[2]. Why Zach even _has_ it on his mp3 player, Chris will never know, but he takes the music in stride - no pun intended - and works with it as best he can.

Chris quickly notes that Zach never requires a specific location for starting up a dance. Sometimes they start up in the gym with Zach's Ipod plugged in and playing over the speakers. But the next time Zach feels like practicing, Zach comes over to chill and decides in the middle of the living room, with the radio playing, that the song is perfect for a dance. So Zach tugs Chris off the couch and leads him quickly into a triple step in the middle of the living room. Chris just does his best to keep up and tries to ignore the feeling of Zach's fingers holding onto his own. They never touch each other's waists - it's always just a light, but distanced, grip of fingers, just enough to give a pull or a push as a cue, but never any closer. And yet still, Zach nods at him during the steps and tells Chris to work his hips a little more - "a bit more swing", he says "get suave with it", he says. Chris gets nervous and feels very... girly... for it, but he does what Zach says and he thinks it may have actually helped him keep time a little better. 

The first time Zach tries a spin, Chris is confused as _hell_ , because there really hadn't been a lot of warning for it. They're down in the gym in front of the mirror again, and Chris is doing his absolute best to not stare at their feet - cause Zach says it's actually easier if you just attention to your partner rather than their feet. Zach swears he'll give Chris every cue he needs. So Chris is in the middle of stepping backwards, whilst Zach steps forward, and Chris is starting to feel like he's finally got the rhythm this time around. But Zach gives an extra little cue, a slight tug on his fingers to signal that Chris should step forward, and Chris feels like he's well, until Zach is suddenly raising his arm up and giving him a quick twist, sending Chris in an _oh my god, too fast_ pivot on the ball of his right foot. He gets through the turn, still alive, but stumbles a bit as it finishes and Zach just laughs and supports him by the shoulders. Chris is still really confused, because that happened really fast, and he's still not exactly sure what actually happened, and Zach _still_ has that little dick-back smirk on his face and Chris just does not see how this is funny at all. He glares as best he can and mutters aloud while re-stabilizing his balance. 

"Jesus, Zach, warn a guy, would ya?" 

"Did my best, babe." 

Chris perks his attention at the sudden use of the term 'babe', but chooses to ignore it. He pauses and looks back at Zach, a challenge in his eyes, his face resolved. 

"Let's try it again." 

And Zach smiles and grabs Chris's hand again to start up their basic triple step again. He only does a couple before he's tugging lightly on Chris's fingers again to cue him and Chris does his best, he really does, but the spin is too fast, and despite the fact that he pivots just fine, he can't seem to quite keep his balance once the turn is over. He mutters an apology to Zach as they have to stop again and Zach just claps his shoulder and turns the song to something a bit slower, going back to the song that Chris had first been caught dancing to - Flower by Moby[1]. 

"This might help." Zach says. Chris nods and falls into the step. He feels a bit more comfortable, the beat is a bit slower, and he can hear Zach whispering in time with the steadier beat. "Walk, walk, tri-ple-step, walk, walk, tri-ple-step. Good. Now, tri-ple-step, back, tri-ple-step, turn." 

Chris almost falls over once he realizes that he actually _didn't_ fall over during the spin. Instead, he moves right back into the rhythmic step with Zach and he feels a completely unnatural sense of pride at the beaming smile on Zach's face. Zach looks proud; Chris just smiles back and Zach nods excitedly at him. 

"Good, that was great. Wanna try it faster?" 

Chris shakes his head.

"Let's finish this song first, then we'll see."

"Haha, alright, you got it." 

And the pair is silent for the remaining two minutes of the song, steps falling together, and Chris catching quickly onto Zach's cues for a couple more twists and turns. (Also, don't think for a second that Chris doesn't try to throw in a little extra swing of his hips). Chris's mouth almost hurts from how widely he's smiling as the song draws to a close.

::

When filming starts back up, it's kind of a given that they won't practice their dance moves whilst on set, regardless of the fact that sometimes Chris will hear the radio playing and will automatically want to let his feet move to the beat. They're enough of idiots on set to begin with - they really don't need to add to the reputation by tossing this little dance-habit of theirs into the mix. But sometimes when Chris will hear the song, and feel the beats, he'll toss a glance towards Zach, and Zach will just smile and do a tiny little triple-step before he walks away or continues taking his cues from the directors.

Chris just laughs out loud and the PAs on set aren't entirely sure why. They stare at him a lot. Oh well, he figures. But most evenings, if they've gotten off set early enough, and if their asses haven't been kicked by strange stunts, they'll migrate to one of their houses and throw in a quick dance before calling it a night and heading to their respective homes.

::

The first time Zach tries a double spin - the two of them turning together - Chris is completely taken by surprise. He isn't so much surprised by the move itself, it really isn't that hard, but more so the location and timing of it. Because they aren't in the gym, and yeah, they have the day off, and their being their usual selves. They're over at Zach's making food - fajitas, if you must know - naturally. Chris has had the stereo on and Josh Rouse's "Come Back"[3] starts to play, and Chris can't help but start to practice a couple of steps in place as he chops up the remaining peppers on the counter. His hips swaying, he puts the knife down and brings his thumb up to his mouth to lick the spice off once, feeling the pepper's oil stinging his tongue deliciously, and he smiles. But in the next instant, he nearly jumps out of his skin as Zach comes out of _nowhere_ and grabs onto Chris's hand that is still lingering up near his mouth and pulls Chris into a slow, lazy step. He grins and Chris just laughs, falling into the step quickly.

"Can't get enough, huh?" 

"Nah, guess not." Zach says calmly. It's a simple enough answer and Chris doesn't feel the need to question further. 

What _does_ surprise him though is the way that Zach uses Chris's hand to pull in him closer. The hand that Zach normally has free rests on Chris's hip now. Chris has to swallow thickly and tell himself to just follow Zach's steps as Zach's hips are simply significantly closer to his than they usually are. The chorus of the song hits, _baby, I want you to come back_ , and before Chris can even register the words, Zach has spun them around together, Zach's right hand dragging along the span of Chris's front, over his hips, then back around to hold onto the small of his back. Chris tries to suppress the shiver that runs through him, but quickly falls out of step and back away from Zach with a nervous chuckle, muttering about how he needs to finish with the food. 

"Lemme help." Zach insists with a grin, and Chris just nods, handing the seasoning over to Zach and asking him to get the steak and chicken ready while he finished with the last bits of spice for them. Zach nods and stands next to Chris at the counter, shooting quick glances over at his friend periodically, and it isn't long until Zach has his hips swinging and bumping into Chris's side. Chris wants to be annoyed, he really does, but he can't help the laugh that slips past his lips as he falls into a coordinated side-step next to Zach while they continue with their food's preparation.

::

The next few times they practice together, it's all relatively the same, with the exception of one little detail that Chris can't seem to quit focusing on. Zach has been pulling him just a fraction of an inch closer, pulling him exponentially closer every time they dance. Now they aren't so much dancing at a relaxed arm's length apart, but rather at a decent six, maybe seven inches apart, and Chris is swinging his hips a little more as Zach leads each step and sway. He's only doing it because Zach told him it would help. Really.

Anyway. Chris would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it just a little bit, despite the way it makes his stomach tighten and makes him feel a bit nervous. Their feet intertwine a little more when they're going through their steps, migrating even closer to a mere four inches of space between them, but Chris doesn't mind all that much, as every now and then he can feel the brush of Zach's thigh against his own. Whether it's intentional or not, Chris isn't sure, and he doesn't particularly care either. He just likes the way it feels and he likes the way that Zach smiles at him when they get through a combo successfully. 

There is however that tiny little part of his brain that insists on tugging at him, making him wonder why Zach has never bothered to ask _why_ Chris had been trying to learn the lady's part in the dance rather than the guy's part. In all honesty, Chris knows the guy's part too. But part of him is glad that Zach has never asked - he doesn't have much of an explanation other than that he enjoys both sides of the dance. And he especially doesn't have a better explanation for enjoying the lady's part just a little more if only because he likes Zach being in the lead. And again, he's just as glad that Zach hasn't asked, because he really doesn't feel like trying to fumble through an explanation for that one. Chris is content to simply get to see the exuberant grin on his friend's face after a successful run-through. 

"You've gotten really good." Zach comments after they finish up a dance down in Chris's basement. Chris smiles, a light flush to his cheeks, muttering a quiet thank you as he cards a hand through his already disheveled hair. 

"Well, you _have_ been working me to death." 

"Man, bitch, bitch, bitch, that's all you ever do." Zach says with a light chuckle on his breath. Chris can't help but laugh too as he unplugs Zach's Ipod from the stereo and passes it to him. Chris ignores the way their fingers brush together when Zach takes it from him with a quiet 'thanks, man'. They start to migrate back up the stairs so Zach can head back to his place; Zach leaves with a hug and a goodnight. Chris grins and knows that they shouldn't have stayed up as late as they have - they have an early call on set in the morning - but he also can't help the little bit of joy that swells in him as he's pretty confident that he and Zach will be dancing again the following evening.

::

As much as Chris hates to admit it - rap music and hip hop work really well for swing dancing. And it's becoming increasingly noticeable that Zach is starting to favor it. They use their weekends as best they can, throwing in at least a couple hours worth of routines and step work. Chris wakes up one Sunday ~~morning~~ afternoon [thank god] to already hear the music coming from the gym. Of course Zach is in his house - of course he's down in the basement playing a loud, strong reggaeton beat over the speakers. He sighs, tries to be annoyed, but finds himself grinning and rolls out of bed, rolling the waist of his sweats a little more so that he won't step on them. He pads down the hall and down the stairs towards the gym, hearing a distinct voice that he recognizes as Pitbull[4] coming from the room. He slips in to eye Zach, clad in jeans and a wife beater, swaying his hips to himself, practicing little half steps to himself, finding a rhythm, his eyes closed. Chris keeps the grin on his face as he leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms over his chest. It only takes Zach a minute to open his eyes and spot Chris. He drags a hand through his hair and tosses Chris a smile.

"Well good morning, princess. My, my aren't we looking indecent this afternoon?"

Chris furrows his brow at the comment, confused, until he glances down and realizes that he hadn't bothered to put a shirt on and that his sweats are riding fairly low on his hips. He chooses not to respond, at least not verbally, but he does flush up and crosses his arms a little tighter over himself to try and hide. Zach laughs at him and beckons him into the gym enthusiastically, pausing the music as he does so. 

"Oh, it's fine, man. Oh, listen, okay so I was thinking..." Zach trails off as Chris comes fully into the gym and stands beside him in front of the mirror. He waits for Zach to continue and raises his eyebrow when he doesn't.

"Zach we talked about this thinking thing. You're going to hurt yourself again." 

"Oh, ha-ha," Zach deadpans, "you're such a comedian. _Anyway!_ No, yeah, so I was thinking. Why don't we practice some more complicated stuff, like multiple turns, change overs, different stuff and maybe try... I don't know, maybe try to organize it?" 

"...Like... a routine?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, a routine. I think... well I think it'd be cool." 

"You planning on putting us on the next _So You Think You Can Dance_?" Chris laughs. 

"Well... no, but." Zach pauses. "I don't know, I kind of figured that if we ever wanted to, we could have something at least. Something to show off. You know, if we wanted." 

"Always were a show off, weren't you?" 

"Hey now, I happen to think we're a pretty badass team."

"Because us dancing swing dance in public wouldn't raise any eyebrows or cause people to ask us uncomfortable questions or anything, oh no." 

Chris means for it to come out teasingly, but it slips off his tongue a little more sharply than he intends. Zach flinches a little and Chris immediately regrets his words, but his curiosity gets the best of him.

"Oh come on, Zach, you gotta know I'm right..."

"'Course. I know, I just thought-" 

Chris cuts him off quickly, putting his hand on Zach's shoulder. 

"Hey, sorry. Forget I mentioned it, kay? Let's do it. If anything, it'll be awesome and badass just for us." 

Zach cracks a smile again and Chris can see his eyes lighting up a bit, the dark brown glimmering and warming. He turns back to the stereo and flips the song back on. 

"Let's improvise a bit and then we'll see what we can work on."

Chris nods and takes his hand when it's offered, letting the music start and letting his feet find the rhythm. The song is the same Pitbull one, and the beat is quicker and lighter than what he's used to and Chris is having to make sure his feet are moving fast enough to keep up with Zach's. They keep the basic step for a while, until he feels Zach's fingers pulling slightly on his to cue him into a turn, and he follows it obediently, reversing their positions right in time with Zach. Zach smiles and nods and they keep their normal steps as Zach starts to speak over the music. 

"Okay, so.... Here's what I'm thinking. Roll with me on this, kay?" 

Chris nods and keeps his steps going in time, listening to Zach explain further. 

"So, we're gunna do another turn, right? We're gunna do the usual turn, I'll lift my left hand, you turn under it, only this time, spin twice. I'm gunna lower my hand to your shoulder and while you're turning, I'm gunna pull you to the other side, okay? Think you got it?" 

Chris lets out a breath and an apprehensive grin, he doesn't... exactly... understand what's about to happen, honestly. He sort of does, but he nods his affirmation anyway, hoping that he'll just kind of go with it when the time comes. 

"This could be messy, but yeah, I'll try. Let's do it." 

"It'll be fast. If it's too fast we'll switch the song, okay? But alright, basic step, walk-walk, tri-ple-step. Basic again, walk-walk, tri-ple-step, walk-walk." 

Chris starts to glance down at their feet, trying to prepare himself for the upcoming turn, but Zach catches him quickly. 

"Hey, woah, eyes up here. I will cue you, I promise. You gotta trust me." 

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. Bad habit."

"Just keep your eyes up here." 

Zach locks eyes with Chris, dark brown burning into Chris's receptive blue, and Chris nails the rhythm dead-on as he starts to feel Zach pulling a little on his arm to signal the upcoming turn; they'll turn after the next full step. Chris nods absentmindedly to no one in particular and he feels the full pull from Zach for the turn on the next step, Zach's arm tugging him forward and raising up, turning him and stepping Chris across to the other side. Chris follows as best he can - it's _fast_ and takes him a bit by surprise. It's all happening in a bit of a blur. He manages to get through the two turns, head tilting and going under Zach's left arm twice until he feels Zach gripping his bare shoulder firmly and pulling Chris's body forward and around to the right completely. The next thing Chris knows, they're back in their normal step and somehow still in time with the song. He scoffs in disbelief, where did he go just now?

"What the fuck just happened?" He mutters with a laugh, his feet still moving, Zach grinning at him.

"No idea, but it worked. That was awesome." 

Chris can't help but let his mind linger on the little moment that he remembers of Zach's fingers dragging steadily over his shoulder and part of his neck through the spin. He also can't help but notice how although they had _started_ this step standing an arm's length apart, only their hands touching, elbows slightly bent, they're _now_ dancing almost flush together and Zach's other hand is resting on Chris's still bare hip. He flushes a little and looks away from the older man, finishing out the song with a few other basic turns and steps. 

When the song is over, Zach smiles and pats Chris's shoulder and starts talking about moves they can work out for a fixed routine. Chris finds himself mulling on the fact that he wishes they didn't have to work early the next morning and get off late tomorrow evening. That means that it's time for Zach to go home, rather than crash there. He just prays that maybe filming won't take as painfully long as it usually does, because if they don't get off too late, maybe they'll have time to chill at Chris's for a little while. And Chris won't deny that he's actually pretty intrigued by some of the steps Zach is talking about. He wishes he could help figure some routine stuff out, but Zach's feet seem to have it covered, so Chris just watches and listens as best he can while Zach shows off some stuff and smiles at him after each step.

::

Monday doesn't _quite_ go like Chris had hoped. Chris isn't quite as rested as he should be and he fumbles over too many of his lines. He frustrates J.J., he frustrates himself, and he winds up keeping the whole crew for an extra hour. He feels like shit for it and apologizes profusely to every lighting and sound guy he can find, even if the sorries are shrugged off and quickly forgiven. And contrary to all expectations he has, Zach actually asks if Chris minds him crashing at his place that night. He doesn't give a reason - Chris doesn't ask for one - just nods and tells him of course. The two of them drop by Zach's to feed Noah and let him out and to pay dutiful attention to Harold as he demands it. They make it to Chris's place alive and well, even if it's... considerably... later in the evening than Chris had originally planned.

They slip into the entrance hallway of the house, slipping off their shoes and coats steadily as Chris quietly murmurs about the fact that he's completely beat. Zach agrees, and Chris lets out a stretch and starts to head down the hallway towards his bedroom, telling Zach that the guest room is already made up. Zach doesn't let him get far, barely lets him take a full step away before he's grabbing onto Chris's arm and tugs him back a little. Chris turns back to him, expecting an explanation, or a word of any kind, but instead, Zach just pulls his Ipod out of his pocket, his other hand still gripping Chris's arm, and scrolls through some songs before selecting one. He sets it on the hall table and unplugs his headphones so it'll play over the device's little speakers. Chris laughs, knowing that only Zach would feel like dancing after a 16 hour work day of mostly stunt-work and dialogue, and he keeps the smile on his face at least until he starts actually listening to the song[5].

The first thing that he notices that's different is that this song is slow. It's a _lot_ slower than what they normally dance to, and Chris almost wonders if they can even throw in an proper step to this. And Zach still hasn't let go of his arm, and Chris supposes that they probably could at least _try_ to get the right steps to it, but it would have to be really slow and really careful. He just pushes out a breathy laugh and starts to move away. 

"Zach come on..." 

"No, _you_ come on."

"It's laaaate." Chris whines. 

"I know."

"The song is slowwwww. M'bad at slow - the steps are hard." 

"Try?" 

He sighs. 

"Here? Now?"

"It's as good a time and place as any." Zach mumbles and Chris breathes a tiny breath and nods, moving his free arm to grab onto Zach's other hand, but Zach avoids it. Instead, he pulls Chris forward by the arm he already has and before Chris knows it, they're standing chest to chest in the middle of the dark hallway of the house. Zach grabs Chris's hand, puts the other on his hip, and steps ever so steadily left, leaving Chris no other option but to follow. Chris isn't sure what he should do with his free hand - normally he would just let it relax down by his waist. But they're dancing so closely at the moment that it's not really much of an option. He hesitantly opts for resting it on Zach's shoulder as they take a slow but light sway to the right on the balls of their feet. Nimble and languid and... _close_. This is... new. 

Chris tries to focus on the dance and the steps, because they've never danced to a song this slow before, and he's actually a bit surprised that the steps even _work_ for the way they normally dance. But he can't focus on it for too long because Zach's hand has slipped from resting on his hip to being wrapped around his middle slightly, pressing on the small of Chris's back, ushering him even closer. Chris can hardly ignore the way that their waists are brushing up together. He forces himself to breathe, to swallow that lump in his throat, to make sure that his tongue isn't drying out, and when he looks at the hand he's got on Zach's shoulder, he can feel that he's shaking. He has to quell it, to make it go away, make it stop before -

"Chris... You okay?"

Zach pauses his steps immediately, loosens his grip on Chris a little, the quiet music still playing from the Ipod on the table.

"Man... You, you're shaking. You alright?"

Chris doesn't respond immediately, and he isn't all that sure as to why. He just pauses and listens to the music,

_My body is a cage_  
That keeps me from dancing  
With the one I love  
But my mind holds the key. 

And he can't think, he just can't. He shakes his head, pushes away from Zach a little with a forced chuckle and a smile playing on his lips - all fake. He looks up at Zach and breathes that worthless little laugh again. Tries to be calm, be normal, be Chris, but his skin doesn't even feel like it's fitting him right. 

"Nah, nah. I'm... I'm fine, no just tired, that's all." 

He hasn't disentangled himself from Zach yet. Chris swallows thickly and although he's put a little bit of space between them, he knows he should let go entirely. But the song isn't over, and he finds it fucking strange that he doesn't _want_ to disentangle himself, he doesn't _want_ to go to bed, he wants to stay there in the moonlit hallway of his house and keep that damn song on repeat. He wants to dance with Zach. Wants to learn the lyrics and the steps and wants to hear Zach hum it into his ear. And now he doesn't even know what the fuck to do. He can see that Zach is staring at him with a puzzled look on his face, an expression mixed with a bit of concern, and it's all combining into a cocktail that Chris really wants to have more of, but knows he probably shouldn't. 

It's a stupid metaphor, _fine_ , he knows that, but he feels like it works. He could get drunk off that look on Zach's face, and he knows right then and there that it's time to cut himself off for the night. So he forces another tired, nervous laugh and fully pulls out of Zach's embrace, mumbling how he's tired and isn't getting the steps right. 

"You were doing fine-" Zach tries, but Chris just smiles and cuts him off gently. 

"Sorry... M'just... just tired. I should hit the hay. Tomorrow?"

He sees Zach lick his lips and nod shortly and Chris tries to pretend like he doesn't notice the somewhat downcast look in the older man's eyes. He just backs out of the hallway towards his bedroom, hearing My Body is a Cage playing in the background and fading as he goes.

_I'm living in an age_  
Whose name I don't know  
Though the fear keeps me moving  
But my heart beats so slow 

::

Chris wakes up to the shrill ringing of his alarm, and goddamnit, it's five in the fucking morning and the damn thing shouldn't be allowed to make that high pitched of a noise. He groans and presses his face into the pillow, trying to forget about the fact that he's going to have to get up soon, trying to forget about his and Zach's little display in the hallway the night before. He pushes out a sigh and flips over to his back, staring absently at the ceiling. He can hear Zach's feet padding around downstairs - of course he'd already be up - and he licks his lips and forces himself up and out of bed and towards the shower. It's all going to be okay, he tells himself.

And it is, honestly - and Chris apologizes for having to be so anticlimactic about it, but everything is okay overall. Once he's showered and dressed he goes downstairs and finds Zach in the kitchen with an extra bagel and cup of coffee out waiting for Chris and he smiles his thanks. They make it to set a few minutes early, they shoot the shit in the make-up trailer while Zach gets his ears done, and they laugh and make fun of each other as usually. They nail their scenes and everything works out fine, everything is awesome. 

Except that it isn't. It's not awesome at all. Because Chris keeps hearing Zach as he hums little bits and pieces of songs - songs that he and Chris have danced to at one point or another. It starts with Flower, then he hums Come Back, and he even has Don't Cha and Ole Black N' Blue Eyes thrown in there somewhere, but at the end of it all, Zach is always humming My Body Is A Cage. 

Zach has a prettier singing voice than you might think; it's softer than he pretends it is, actually, the boy sings pretty well. Chris manages to catch a free thirty minutes or so while they film a short Spock-centric scene, and he can't deny that he's sitting on the sidelines of the set with his earphones in, listening to every cover version he has of My Body Is A Cage while he watches Zach work. The song certainly works well for the swing steps, even if it's a bit slow, but Chris can't help but feel a little bitter at the caustic irony the words have right then. 

My body is a cage that keeps me from dancing with the one I love? _Really_?

Chris lowers his head to look away from Zach through the scene and mulls on it. Certainly, if anyone were to see the two of them dancing together, it definitely would raise a few questions - at the very least a few eyebrows - and Chris knows it would really only because they're both very male. He won't deny that even he thinks it's a little odd sometimes, and he honestly doesn't want to question himself as to why he'd even been learning both parts of the dance, why he'd even bother to let Zach take the guy's part while he willingly followed in the steps that traditionally belong to the lady. It certainly isn't a topic he wants to address with himself, because... yeah, it's a bit strange and he knows it. No matter how hard he tries to lie to himself, justify it to himself, he can't just forget about the fact that best friends of the same gender don't usually do this sort of thing with each other - no matter how close they are. He also knows that if it were any other guy, Chris would most certainly _not_ be doing this. 

And Chris knows it's weird. He knows it's strange. He knows that guys don't do this - not with each other, they don't, and certainly not in this day and age. But he can't help the fact that he _wants_ to do it more, wants to _keep_ doing this little dancing thing he's got going on with Zach. He wants to figure out how to twist and turn his legs around Zach's. He wants to know complicated steps, he wants Zach to lead and teach him, and he wants to follow him without a word or protest. He wants to learn more than just swing dance. He wants to learn salsa, ballroom, meringue, he wants to know what all Zach knows, what all Zach will teach him. He wants to know all the dips and the turns. He wants to dance _closer_ to Zach, and that in and of itself is enough to startle him back into reality as the PAs tell him to go back to make up for their next scene as Zach finishes up. He gapes for a moment but tells himself to acknowledge their instructions and nods absentmindedly before migrating to make up without a second glance at his friend. 

And funnily enough, despite all of this insane inner-panic that Chris has been having, the two of them nail their scenes without a single hitch, and Chris would be underestimating if he said that it was anything but a perfect run. One of their drivers, Steven, take them home early that night, and Chris thinks it's very interesting that Steven's iPod is playing Moby on the drive back towards their neighborhood. They get to Zach' house first, and Chris gets out with Zach, telling Steven to go on home, that he was going to chill with Zach for a little while and head home later.

Zach doesn't question it, and they head up his front walkway towards the house. They migrate inside and immediately get loved on by Noah, and Harold commands attention. They toe off their shoes and remove their jackets, and Zach just claps Chris on the shoulder gently as he moves to let Noah outside for a few minutes. Chris nods at him and walks into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge and leaning back lightly against the counter. He sips on it gingerly and listen to the silence; he can vaguely hear Zach talk to Noah and playing with him outside and he smiles to himself. He hears the door open and close, accompanied by Zach telling Noah to go lay down. And for the next minute or so, the house is quiet aside from the padding of Zach's feet, accompanied by the sounds of Zach's speaker system turning on. He pauses and waits, and just as he expected, he hears music start to sift across the kitchen speakers. He actually laughs out loud when he realizes that Zach is playing Mustang Sally[6] loudly. He hangs his head for a moment and looks up, still smiling broadly, to find Zach leaning against the doorframe with a Cheshire-cat grin on his face in return. Chris just sighs and forgets the day, forgets the night, and sets his beer down, walking towards Zach with his hand already extended. 

Zach takes the invitation willingly and steps into the rhythm with Chris immediately. The song has a slow enough beat so that the steps are decently exaggerated and that the walks are steady and fluid. Chris can't help but notice that they're still dancing at arm's length though, hands holding onto each other's lightly. Now, Chris loves Mustang Sally, don't get him wrong, but he can't deny the little feeling in his gut that is telling him that this dance is boring - it's safe - it's not exciting, and the song isn't helping them at the moment. They aren't close enough and they've only done one turn, but they've mostly stuck to basic walk steps with a couple side steps thrown in. And it's almost a little annoying. And finally, Chris just huffs out "Oh, fuck it", and he stops dancing, lets go of Zach's hand, and walks determinedly towards the living room. He knows that Zach is probably really confused, just judging from the footsteps that are quickly following him and the subsequent sound of Zach's questioning voice. 

"Chris, what's wro-" Zach stops himself as he sees Chris leaning over his Ipod that's plugged into the speaker system. He waits as Chris concentrates on the song list, before nodding his head to himself and changing the song. He turns to Zach and waits for the music to start, which it does after an extended second-long pause. Chris can see Zach pausing and listening to the music, trying to grab onto the beat. Zach recognizes it as Seal's "Waiting for You"[7] quickly. It should be an easy enough song, and Chris just nods at Zach and speaks.

"I know we already kinda do dips, but I want to learn a new one." He says daringly. 

Zach doesn't say anything, just kind of "hmm"s at Chris and Chris shrugs and holds his hand out to Zach. The older man steps forward and takes it with a nod and starts up the step, leaning forward into Chris. The song continues for a bit and Zach bites his lip as they move through the six count.

"Okay, so uh, dips. I'm going to hang onto both your hands, then I'm gunna pull you left, then right, then I'll pull you straight forward. And eh," Zach clears his throat before continuing, "Then I'll dip you back. I'll have to get my arms over your head, so just kind of pull your arms towards yourself and let my arms wrap over and you slip under, kay? I'll lead you, just make sure to grab the cues, kay?"

"Yeah, alright." Chris nods, and goddamn if his stomach doesn't flip as Zach says "I'l dip you back". Zach keeps the steps timed perfectly, and as he promised, Chris feels him grab onto his free left hand right as the song says _There has no one brighter than you_. Another basic-step and Zach tugs him slightly left and forward, bringing them chest to chest for a moment before pushing him back away. 

_I can't deny these things that I do._

Zach releases the hold, pushes Chris into a back-step, then pulls him forward again and to the right, chests together for another fraction of a second. 

_Feel's like the world's at stake, cause I have been waiting..._

Then finally, as if the gods themselves did mandate it, Zach pushes him into another back step and once Chris is at arm's length, he cues him to step straight forward to push their torsos fully and completely together. The whole thing only takes a second in reality, but to Chris it lasts for an eternity. 

Chris lets his arms tuck in towards himself as Zach lets go of them and Zach is raising his above and around Chris. They move up over his head and skate down his body, his hands grazing down Chris's shoulders and back, coming to rest on the small of Chris's back. Chris isn't sure what he was expecting, but he feels Zach's hands press firmly on his back to urge their hips together as Zach leans him backwards for a split second. He holds onto Zach's biceps merely by instinct and the dip only lasts a second before Zach is snapping his body back upright and flush against him.

_I have been waiting for you._

Chris can't help the way that his body actually sort of _rolls_ up into Zach's as Zach pulls him back up - and if the way that Zach's hand is pressing into the small of his back is indication, Zach hadn't exactly cued that little roll accidentally. When Chris is fully out of the dip, he finds himself completely flush against Zach' chest, but they don't start dancing again. Their movements pause entirely as the music continues to play, piano and bass and drums and all Chris can really do is breathe as he rests his hands on Zach's biceps and looks at the older man. His breath is hitching and Zach still hasn't let him go, hands still firmly around his waist, palms pressed flat against Chris's lower back. He can feel Zach's chest rising and falling as he breathes - his pants slightly labored after their short dance - and Chris honestly can't stop the shiver that runs from his head to his toes, the quiver that runs up and down his spine, and he knows it's strange, and it's the wrong song entirely, but all he can think is that one line from that other damn song:

_My body is a cage..._

Because straight guys do _not_ do this. And Chris used to think that he cared, but somehow the touch of Zach against him is enough to make his breath stutter. And his body shivers as he feels Zach's hands tightening around his waist - they're already pressed flush together, Chris slightly on his toes, and he doesn't think that they can get much closer, but damnit he wants to try. He dares to let his eyes catch Zach's, merely to find that his companion has already been staring at him with a hint of heat and anxiousness glinting in his eyes. And Zach's eyes are dark, but don't think that Chris misses the way his pupils are dilating as he stares, and Chris's body feels heavy; he starts to lower off his toes a little, to rest on flat feet, to at least regain a bit of balance, but Zach's arms are possessive around him and won't let him. Zach only grips him more tightly when Chris tries to relax down, keeping their bodies pressed tightly together, and Chris can feel the way that Zach's chest is rising and falling heavily. Chris's breath is coming out in quivering puffs and he quickly notices how close together his and Zach's faces have gotten. 

The song is still playing in the background, but Chris can't really think about that because he loses all ability to hear anything as he realizes that Zach's lips are pressed hard against his - aggressive and hungry. And Chris might have to start reconsidering that whole "straight guy" thing he's [sort of] had going on so far. Cause he's shoving back into Zach with equal force, his tongue shoving out against Zach's lips and into his mouth. Zach's got an arm wrapped almost fully around Chris's waist, the other one sliding up his back to his neck and slipping int his hair, trying to grapple onto the short strands for some kind of leverage. Instead, Chris raises his hand from the older man's bicep and grabs onto Zach's dark locks, tugging hard and tilting Zach's head to the side so that he can fuck his tongue deeper into Zach's mouth. 

The song fades out and the room goes quiet for a moment, and all Chris can hear is the sound of their breathing, panting out of their noses desperately, coupled with the slip and slide of their lips and tongues. He lets one hand loosen in Zach's hair so that he can drag it down his cheek, grip onto Zach's jaw. But Zach is having _none_ of that - the arm that's wrapped around his waist tightens aggressively, _crushing_ Chris even more tightly against his body, if it's even possible. Chris lets out a grunt as he's tugged forward and as Zach's other hand takes hold of his chin and holds him firmly in place, teeth grappling at the flesh of Chris's lower lip. Chris vaguely thinks that his lips won't just be crushed-red-and-bruised by the end of this, but will be fucking _torn_ once they've finished... whatever it is that they're doing. 

And he is so completely okay with that times a thousand. 

The music starts back up again and opens into the next song in the playlist, and apparently Chris's shuffle has decided the exact song that the two of them need right then. "Pretty"[8] by the Cranberries starts to creep over the speakers and Chris can already feel Zach pressing his hips forward with a roll at the first drum beat. Chris groans against his mouth and drags his hands down Zach's neck, fingernails bluntly clawing along the skin and leaving red trails in their wake. He feels Zach shudder against him, and before his brain can even register _"Huh, Zach must like it a little rough"_ , he's being turned around and shoved forcefully against the nearest wall. He lets out an audible "oomph!", but Zach doesn't relinquish his lips. All he does is hold Chris's body against his own, forcing him flush against the wall with the weight of his body, and lets his other hand fumble at Chris's jeans. Chris's brain barely even clicks with Zach is dropping down to his knees, one palm slipping under Chris's shirt to press into and drag across his chest, the other one grasping Chris's cock roughly. 

All Chris can think is _"Well, it's been a long time coming, really"_ , and he thunks his head back against the wall at the first touch of Zach's tongue against the head. He clenches his teeth and hears himself groan past them. 

"Zach, fuckin'... god..." 

Zach doesn't waste a second before he's got his mouth wrapped around the tip of Chris's dick, sliding down it and letting it hit the back of his throat. Chris shudders and feels his knees start to give out at the sudden onslaught of sensation that's building up _right there_. Zach's got his hands pressing roughly into Chris's hips, simultaneously forcing Chris to stay against the wall and supporting him to keep him standing upright. Chris's eyes are clinched together tightly as he feels Zach's lips smoothing up and down the length of his cock and he has to force himself to open them just enough so he can glance down at the dark-haired man. His vision is hazy, eyes clouded as he stares down at Zach, and it almost startles him when he looks down because Zach is very clearly looking right back up at him. Watching him, analyzing every whimper, every moan and grunt, every full-bodied twitch that Chris gives him. He lets his lips pop off of Chris and licks a thick stripe along the underside of his cock, from his balls to the tip. Chris groans and feels his fingers slipping into Zach's hair smoothly before tightening his fist and grappling onto the silky locks. He stares down at him lustily and Zach just nods at him and wraps his mouth back around Chris once again, eyes never breaking their hold on Chris's. 

Chris's body can't take this; he's shivering and shuddering, hand loosening and tightening in Zach's hair as the boy's hand guide his hips forward and backwards to fuck into his mouth. His hearing feels like it's going in and out - one minute he can hear the music loud and clear, hear that guitar, those steady drums, that alluring voice saying _"You're so pretty the way you are..._ , and then in the next second, Zach does _something_ with his tongue right at the head of his cock and everything sounds like Chris is underwater. He's sweating at this point, his body straining as he gets close, so close, and he's whimpering out warnings to Zach, and _right_ as he feels it coming, right as that tension starts to stretch across his body, Zach removes his mouth. Chris is about to ask him what the _fuck_ he thinks he's doing, but Zach is already dragging him down the hallway, physically shoving him into the bedroom, and using Chris's body to close the door as Zach pushes him into it face first. 

Chris grunts as he feels the cool wood of the door against his body, and he isn't daring to ask any questions of Zach. He's ready to take back his thought about Zach liking it a little rough, because god, Chris certainly isn't minding the roughness he's receiving at the moment. Zach's chest presses against his still-clothed back and Chris can feel those big hands grabbing onto his waist, slipping up under the hem of his shirt and dragging the cotton upwards, cuing Chris [as he always does] to lift his arms and get the shirt off. Chris lets him without question and Zach wastes no time in getting Chris's pants pulled completely off, along with his boxers. Zach's still got all his clothes on, and the denim and metal of his jeans feels rough against Chris's bared skin as Zach languidly grinds his crotch against Chris's ass. Chris is not about to complain. 

Zach runs a hand down Chris's back, fingertips dragging smoothly along the line of his spine, and he shudders at the touch, feeling Zach leaning down to kiss his shoulder, his hair tickling Chris's neck and jaw. He huffs and tries to wait, but he can't help but push back into Zach's embrace as Zach's lips open widely over the skin of his shoulder and suck relentlessly, tongue pressing firmly into the taut flesh. Chris groans and is really not pleased about how naked he is and about how naked Zach isn't at the moment. Zach's teeth sink into his shoulder and he hisses, but the boy's tongue is immediately soothing the bite until he pulls away quickly, hands pushing Chris further into the door as he pushes away. Chris is about to ask what he's doing, but Zach's voice cuts him off. 

"Don't move." He says sternly, and Chris just nods and waits, his cheek and naked body pressed into the bedroom door. The wood is heating up against his flesh, and while it was once cool, it feels like it's going to catch fire any minute now if Chris doesn't pull away from it. But he stays put, does as he was told. He doesn't even dare to open his left eye to try and see what Zach is doing. Instead, he listens. He can hear the clink of metal, and the sound of leather sliding out of belt buckles, followed by buttons popping and a shuffling sound that signals to Chris that Zach has probably now lost his shirt and pants. [And his underwear, Chris hopes.] He hears the sound of a drawer opening and closing, and then Zach is behind him again. He drops a couple objects to the floor beside the two of them, but Chris doesn't really care about them because all he can feel is the _burning_ hot sensation of Zach standing flush against him again, now completely naked, his cock rubbing in between Chris's cheeks. Chris doesn't even care enough to question it or to freak out about how fast this is moving - he tells himself that this has been for years, and if several years isn't a long enough time to wait for sex, dear god, what would he ever do? It's fucking been long enough for the two of them, and Zach knows it too. Zach grinds up into Chris's ass again and Chris lets his head drop back to rest against Zach's shoulder. He's never felt small before, and Zach honestly isn't that much taller than him, but feeling his head tilted back and resting on his shoulder, Zach's body feeling like it's going to surround him, the way his hands wrap around his hips, the way he could turn his head and mouth at Zach's throat, it makes him feel vulnerable, as if he's waiting for the right cue from Zach. As if he can't take a step unless Zach directs him that way. 

And he likes it...

He lets out a shaky breath as Zach grinds into him again, whimpering. Zach lets him go for a second to reach down beside them and grab at the objects he'd dropped at their side earlier. Chris dares to look at them, even though he already knows what they are. He hears the cap of the tube pop and the text thing he knows, Zach's got the pad of his finger rubbing around Chris's entrance - at the touch, Chris feels his knees wobbling again, but Zach still has him supported with his other arm and the strength of his body behind Chris. Chris just groans and lets it happen, feeling the gentle stretch as Zach probes inward slowly. It's strange, but it doesn't hurt like he'd expected it too, and his cock is still achingly hard. It feels like every muscle in him is trembling and begging for that released he'd been denied earlier, because he'd been close, _so_ close before, but Zach won't let him have it yet. Zach brushes against something inside Chris on one of the first strokes of his fingers, but once he hears Chris's pleasured gasp, he intentionally avoids the spot. The fucking _bastard_ , Chris thinks. Chris can feel the sweat building up on his forehead and he doesn't even notice the change of the intrusion until Zach has three fingers fucking in and out of him, stretching him, all whilst whispering filthy things into Zach's ear. 

"Yeah, just like that, open up for me, Chris." 

"God, Zach, _please_ ," Chris whines back through clenched teeth. He knows that he should probably be freaking out more than this, that he should be saying is moving awfully fast, or that he should at least be questioning as to why _he's_ the bottom in this... relationship? Could he call it that? But he honestly just doesn't have the time or the will-power, he doesn't even care to question. All he can really think about is how anxiously he's waiting to hear Zach tear open the condom packet and rub against him, push _into_. He shouldn't be fucking _keening_ around Zach's name, but he is, the word slipping over and around his tongue like it's honey that the never wants to stop tasting. Zach cranes his neck and presses his lips against the tendon in Chris's throat as he removes his fingers slowly. Chris would whimper at the lose, but he hears the crinkle of the condom, hears Zach's shallow breathing as he's probably rubbing the lube across his dick. His body quakes as Zach's right arm slips around his waist again to pull him close, his other hand holding onto his dick as he rubs it over and around Chris's entrance. The arm around his waist grips him firmly, Zach's hand venturing down low to take hold of Chris's cock, rubbing it, keeping it interested as he pushes in. 

Chris hisses. This is different than Zach's fingers, fuller, bigger [obviously], and the burn that Chris had expected is there. But despite the stretch, despite the burn, Chris would never say that it actually hurts him. Because it doesn't. Zach is shifting in, filling him up, stroking up and down his cock to relax him even more, to get him to open up for him more. And Chris is oh so willing to let Zach in. He cants his hips back steadily to angle Zach in deeper. He lets his right hand trace up and along Zach's forearm, over his fingers which are still sliding languidly over his cock, and he groans and cranes his neck, turning his head as best he can to try and capture Zach's lips. Zach presses his whole body closer, his chest flush against Chris's back, hips moving until he's buried to the hilt, lips caressing Chris's as soothingly as he can and waiting on Chris to cue _him_ for once, to tell him that it's okay to move. Chris breaks their liplock but stays close, his mouth rubbing against Zach's as he pants and whispers to him. 

"Do it," he says shortly, "Come on, fuck me, Zach. Do it." 

Zach nods to him, pants against his lips as he pulls his hips back, reclaiming Chris's lips as he thrusts back forward. He starts up a steady rhythm, loving the way each time he pushes forward into Chris, the boy's body shudders and twitches. Chris raises his leg up a little, trying to give Zach more room to push himself further, deeper, and Chris can't even think anymore. He knows this should be weird, knows that he shouldn't be so calm about this, but the only thing about him that isn't calm is the way that his brain keeps going a little crazy with each thrust of Zach's hips. He knows that he won't last long - he's already been so close this evening, and Zach still hasn't let go of his cock as he fucks into Chris relentlessly, groaning, his voice coming out in a whine with each staggered movement. 

They're both sweating, Chris closes his eyes, his brow furrows as he concentrates on making sure he can feel every single part of this. He lets his head fall back against Zach's shoulder again and he feels Zach's right hand leave his dick and migrate up, running his hand along Chris's belly, his chest, his neck, and into Chris's short hair. Chris can barely get enough air, his arm fumbling to reach back, cupping the back of Zach's neck to draw him in closer. Zach licks at the shell of Chris's ear and whispers to him.

"Fuck, Chris, yeah. Like that, like me fucking you nice and hard?" 

Chris nods and Zach's hand leaves his hair and moves to hold onto Chris's shoulder, trailing his fingers down it and scraping his nails across the skin. Chris is so close, he can feel it building up in him again, feel that pressure, that desperate need for release, desperately wishing that Zach would touch him again. But somehow he knows that coming solely from being fucked would probably be just as rewarding, if not more so. So long as Zach keeps hitting that spot, he'll be patient and wait. He waits and wants and keens and tries to hold off, feeling Zach's thrusts becoming a little more erratic as he is undoubtedly drawing closer to his own release. 

Zach isn't even making words anymore; god knows he's trying, but the tightness around him, the smell of Chris, the feeling of their skin rubbing together, sock and slick with sweat, is too much. So instead, he busies his mouth at Chris's ear, nipping at the lobe and tongue at that sweet spot behind Chris's ear. And that's it; Chris is done. He lets out a strangled cry at the feeling of Zach's hot, wet tongue teasing and tasting around his ear, behind it, on it, and he's gone, coming almost painfully as his legs want to collapse. Zach holds him up again, thrusts once, twice, three more times until he's moaning, his voice cut off mid-groan to let out a breathy pant, Chris's name on his lips.

::

Chris expects things to be weird, because that's usually what happens when two friends fuck like rabbits and wake up in the same house and bed the next morning. He doesn't regret it, but he's definitely anxious. The minute his eyes open, he knows he's still in Zach's room, curled up in Zach's bed, Zach himself sprawled out beside him. Very naked. He can still hear the sound of music playing downstairs and he realizes that they must have left it playing all night. He groans and waits from Zach to get up. They have to be on set soon, and he's debating just having Zach drive them onto set rather than having a driver come and pick them up at the same house. He expects things to be awkward.

Surprisingly enough, they aren't all that bad. The morning is a little quiet, and Zach even dares to snag a kiss from Chris as they're heading towards the front door to go to Zach' care, freshly showered and dressed and ready for another day of filming. 

They don't spend a lot of time together that day; they're filming a lot of scenes separately, more am I Vulcan/am I Human-angst, more introspective-Captain moments. When they do see each other, it's once for a short scene, and once during lunch. They don't talk much, and they certainly don't bring up the previous evening. Chris wouldn't quite say it's _awkward_ , but he's still a bit unsure about what exactly he should say, or if he should say anything at all. Instead they eat their lunch together in relative silence, chilling around a couple of wooden tables with other members of the cast and crew. 

Chris perks up at the sound of music playing. He glances around to find their outdoor sound system being tampered with by one of their veteran PAs. Honestly, that job should be left to the sound crew, but he realizes quickly that the PA has determinedly hijacked the system. Lady Gaga's "Just Dance"[9] starts playing over the speakers - and yes, sadly, he _can_ recognize that song - and he lets out a small chuckle. But once he glances back at Zach, still sitting across from him at the table, the smile on his face fades. Zach is just looking at him, and Chris would think that after knowing the guy for so many years, he would have a decent graps on what all Zach's facial expressions mean, but alas, for the moment, he's at a loss. Zach licks his lips quickly and gets this tiny little grin on his face, and the next thing Chris knows, Zach has stood up and is standing beside him, holding out his hand for Chris to take.

Chris hesitates, glancing around nervously, seeing some of the crew members flailing about and dancing and looking silly as Lady Gaga continues to play. So he swallows thickly and takes Zach's hand, and like clockwork, he's being cued and directed into a basic step, walking a step forward, sliding a step back, twisting when Zach signals him to, his feet finding the exact rhythm for the song and for Zach. Chris just smiles as they triple-step and side-step by the tables, hearing "Just Dance" playing loudly across the speakers. It's only once he realizes that the majority of the crew has stopped their own little dances and is now staring at him and Zach that he blushes, and then shakes his head and laughs, continuing to follow Zach's cues with even more gusto than before.

Zach grins at him and doesn't say a word, glancing around them at their curious coworkers before sending Chris into a quick spin under his arm and then dipping him back and holding Chris there. 

Chris almost feels awkward there. They don't kiss dramatically or romantically in the dip, none of that cliche-take-me-by-control-like-they-do-in-the-movies kind of thing. But Zach just holds him there in the dip, his knee and thigh casually supporting Chris, and he just stares down with a smile on his lips that reaches all the way up to the corners of his eyes. 

And Chris can't help but smile, despite feeling a little awkward. And despite having all these people staring at them, Chris has never felt happier to have learned to dance.

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of my older Pinto stories, but this has always, always been one of my favorites. What can I say? I'm a huge sucker for dancing and sex. Especially dancing that leads to sex. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, y'all.
> 
> I also have a [tumblr](http://commodorecliche.tumblr.com)


End file.
